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 Scriptures. God, by  His  preventing  grace,  first  awakened  in  bis  heart a longing for  the  truth  and  for  a right  understanding  of  the  prophecies, and then  sent  Philip  to  help  him. The Ethiopian  corresponded  with grace, by  humbly  owning  that  he  could  not  understand  what  he  was reading, by  begging  Philip  to  explain  it,  and  by  accepting  the  instruction given him  by  the  teacher  whom  God  had  sent  to  him. And as  soon  as he  understood  the  necessity  of  Baptism,  he  did  not  postpone  indefinitely the receiving  of  it,  but  seized  the  first  opportunity  that  presented  itself to be  baptized. To him  can  be  applied  the  words:  “Blessed  are  they that hunger  and  thirst  after  justice,  for  they  shall  have  their  fill.”

The necessity  and  properties  of  grace.  “If  thou  believest  with  all thy heart  thou  mayest  be  baptized  (or  born  again  to  eternal  life)”, replied Philip  to  the  Ethiopian. And our  Lord  said: “He  that  believeth and is  baptized  shall  be  saved”  (chapter  LXXXIII). Faith is  the  root and ground  of  justification  (Council  of  Trent);  and  he  who  does  not believe cannot  be  justified  or  saved. We must,  moreover,  “believe  with all our  hearts”; we  must  grasp  the  doctrines  of  faith,  not  only  with  the understanding, but  also  with  the  heart  and  will,  and  shape  our  lives  in accordance  with  our  faith.

The chief  Doctrine  of  Christianity  is  that  of  the  Divinity  of  our Lord  Jesus  Christ. When  the  Ethiopian  declared:  “I  believe  that  Jesus Christ is  the  Son  of  God”,  Philip  asked  no  more,  but  gave  him  holy Baptism on  the  strength  of  this  confession  of  faith. He who  believes in the  divinity  of  our  Lord,  believes  also  in  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  in all  that  Jesus  taught. He especially  believes  that  the  Church  was  founded by Jesus  Christ,  and  that  He  has  sent  to  her  the  Spirit  of  truth.

Holy Scripture  and  the  Infallible  Teaching  of  the  Church. The Ethiopian read  the  Holy  Scriptures  without  prejudice  and  with  a sincere desire to  understand  them; but  he  could  not  glean  the  truth  from  them, because there  was  nobody  to  expound  them  to  him. The Scriptures are not  clear,  nor  easy  for  everybody  to  understand. They form  a divine and mysterious  book,  “in  which  (as  St.  Peter  says  about  the  Epistles of  St.  Paul)  are  certain  things  hard  to  be  understood,  which  the  unlearned and unstable  wrest  to  their  own  destruction”  (2  Pet.  3,  16). Wherefore St. Augustine  says:  “From  whence  arise  so  many  heresies,  but  because Holy Scripture,  which  is  good  in  itself,  is  misunderstood?”  But  was  the interpretation of  Holy  Scripture  which  Philip  gave  to  the  Ethiopian correct and  reliable? Yes! And why  was  it  so? Because Philip  interpreted Holy  Scripture  as  the  apostles  had  taught  it  to  him. But why was the  interpretation  of  the  apostles  infallibly  correct? Because they were instructed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  right  understanding  of  the Scriptures, and  were  by  Him  preserved  from  all  error. Only the  Holy Ghost, under  whose  inspiration  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  written,  can infallibly interpret  their  meaning. For that  purpose  the  Holy  Ghost was sent  to  the  Church,  that  He  might  explain  both  Scripture  and tradition to  the  faithful,  and  declare  to  them  the  true  faith. The Holy